Post-Secondary Planning
The Minnetonka High School Post-Secondary Counseling staff are here to help students explore their possibilities and pursue their interests. Students and families are encouraged to visit this page often to see the calendar of college/university representative visits and other updates to assist with your post-secondary planning.
Class-Specific Resources & Events
Class of 2025
College Applications: How To Get It Done
- How to Get it Done: Transcript Request
- Common App Application guide
- How to Get it Done: Matching the Common App
- How to Get it Done: Completing the Activities Section
- How to Get it Done: Requesting Teacher Letters of Recommendation
- How to Get it Done: Completing the Education Section
- Common Application Essay Prompts
- List of colleges that accept the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR/SSAR)
- List of colleges SRAR/SSAR part 2
- How to Get it Done: Minnesota Direct Admissions Program
Seminars
2024-2025 School Year:
2023-2024 School Year
2023-2022 School Year
2022-2021 School Year
Workshop Wednesday: Held in the Forum during Anchor Time
- September 11: A representative from Northwestern will discuss the “Fit Factor”
- September 18, October 9, 23, 30: College Application Work and Q&A. And September 25 and October 2nd College Essay Workshop. Seniors are invited to come to the Forum to work on college applications, and essays and ask questions
- November 20: Career Exploration: University of St Thomas, Career Educator, Opus College of Business
- December 4: Complete your application to Normandale and/or Hennepin Tech
- December 11; 10:30-11:30 am: FAFSA Completion Event (We will have a Financial Aid expert walk you through the FAFSA process)
Events and Presentations
- Monday, September 9: Advice for completing your college essays – 7:00 pm Virtual
https://meet.google.com/isq-kmhw-caz - Monday, September 16: Senior Parent Night- 7:00 pm Virtual
https://meet.google.com/xgy-pvet-oxr -
Wednesday, September 18: Testing 101 a Testing Guide for Parents
- Tuesday, September 24: HBCU Fair at Minnehaha
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Monday, September 30: Public Flagship College Panel - Panelists include University of Iowa, University of Indiana, University of MN- TC, Purdue University and UW Wisconsin
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Tuesday, October 1: Applying to Colleges and Universities in the UK - Exeter
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Monday, October 7: Applying to the UC System Colleges - UC Irvine
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Wednesday, October 9: Advice on Applying to Selective Colleges - NYU
- Wednesday, October 16: Application and Essay Workshops 9:00- 12:00
- Tuesday, October 22: National College Fair: Mpls Convention Center 5:00-7:00 pm (see below for more details)
- Monday, November 4: Navigating College Support Systems for Students with Learning Differences: 7:00 pm
- Monday, November 18: Understanding College Financial Aid- 7:00 pm
https://meet.google.com/sfz-epym-hhr - Wednesday, November 20: Two-Year Community and Technical Colleges and Aviation Program Event and College Fair - 6:00 pm at VANTAGE and MOMENTUM Building
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Thursday, December 5: Hennepin Tech and Normandale Application Workshop - 2 pm in the College and Career Center
- Monday, December 16: FAFSA Completion Event; 7:00 pm (Normandale)- Forum
- Thursday, December 19: Class of 2024 Alumni Panel- 1:50 pm
- Thursday, January 16: Business 101 - The Key Business Majors You Need to Know About - 9:55 am in the Forum
- Tuesday, February 25: MEF College Fair- 5:30 pm- 7:00 pm- Commons
- Monday, March 24: Military Night 7:00 pm Forum and Commons
- Wednesday, March 26: Understanding your Financial Aid award 7:00 pm-Virtual
- Monday, May 5: Transition to College: Parent Panel 7:00 pm- Forum
Class of 2026
Seminars
2024-2025 School Year (current):
2023-2024 School Year
2023-2022 School Year
Events and Presentations
- Wednesday, September 18: Testing 101 at MHS- 7:00 pm Virtual
- Tuesday, September 24: HBCU Fair at Minnehaha
- Monday, September 30: College Flagship Panel - Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue & Wisconsin - Virtual
https://meet.google.com/gmf-qhje-cvp - Tuesday, October 1: Applying to Colleges and Universities in the UK 6:30 pm - Virtual
- Monday, October 7: Applying to the UC System 7:00 pm - Virtual
https://meet.google.com/bmg-onkd-vre - Wednesday, October 9: Advice on Applying to Selective College- 7:00 pm (NYU) - Virtual
https://meet.google.com/ryg-kqjg-xox - Tuesday, October 22: National College Fair: Mpls Convention Center 5:00-7:00 pm (see below for more details)
- Monday, November 4: Navigating College Support Systems for Students with Learning Differences: 7:00 pm
- Monday, November 18: Understanding College Financial Aid- 7:00 pm
https://meet.google.com/sfz-epym-hhr - Wednesday, November 20: Two-Year Community and Technical Colleges and Aviation Program Event and College Fair - 6:00 pm at VANTAGE and MOMENTUM Building
- Thursday, December 19: Class of 2024 Alumni Panel 1:50 pm
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Thursday, January 16: Business 101 - The Key Business Majors You Need to Know About - 9:55 am in the Forum
- Monday, February 10: Junior Parent Night- 7:00 pm- Virtual
- Tuesday, February 25: MEF College Fair- 5:30 pm- 7:00 pm- Commons
- Monday, March 24: Military Night 7:00 pm Forum and Commons
Class of 2027
Seminars
2024-2025 School Year (current)
2023-2024 School Year
Events and Presentations
- Wednesday, September 18: Testing 101 at MHS- 7:00 pm Virtual
- Tuesday, September 24: HBCU Fair at Minnehaha
- Tuesday, October 22: National College Fair: Mpls Convention Center 5:00-7:00 pm (see below for more details)
- Monday, November 4: Navigating College Support Systems for Students with Learning Differences: 7:00 pm
https://meet.google.com/qjm-pxsa-nyt - Wednesday, November 20: Two-Year Community and Technical Colleges and Aviation Program Event and College Fair - 6:00 pm at VANTAGE and MOMENTUM Building
- Thursday, January 16: Business 101 - The Key Business Majors You Need to Know About - 9:55 am in the Forum
- Tuesday, February 25: MEF College Fair- 5:30 pm- 7:00 pm- Commons
- Monday, March 24: Military Night 7:00 pm Forum and Commons
- Monday, May 12: Sophomore Parent Night 7:00 pm- Virtual
Class of 2028
Seminars
2024-2025 School Year (current)
Events and Presentations
- Wednesday, September 18: Testing 101 at MHS- 7:00 pm Virtual
- Tuesday, September 24: HBCU Fair at Minnehaha
- Tuesday, October 22: National College Fair: Mpls Convention Center 5:00-7:00 pm (see more details below)
- Monday, November 4: Navigating College Support Systems for Students with Learning Differences: 7:00 pm
https://meet.google.com/qjm-pxsa-nyt - Wednesday, November 20: Two-Year Community and Technical Colleges and Aviation Program Event and College Fair - 6:00 pm at VANTAGE and MOMENTUM Building
- Tuesday, February 25: MEF College Fair- 5:30 pm- 7:00 pm- Commons
- Monday, March 24: Military Night 7:00 pm Forum and Commons
Post-Secondary Resources
- Naviance
- College and Career Center
- Financial Aid & Scholarships
- NACAC College Fair
- Community (2-Year) College Programs
- Vocational Trade Schools and Apprenticeship
- Transcripts
- Athletics - NCAA Requirements
- Career Planning Resources
- Find a Job/Internship
- Recorded Presentations
Naviance
Naviance is a comprehensive college and career readiness resource that helps students align their strengths and interests to post-secondary goals, improve their short- and long-term academic outcomes and connect learning to life. This grade 9-12 resource, free to Minnetonka Public Schools students and families, provides personalized academic planning, self-discovery, career exploration, and college and career preparation.
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Student and Parent/Guardian: Log in through the MY SSO Click on Naviance.
If you are unable to log into Naviance, please send an email to michelejohnson@minnetonkaschools.org. Please include in your email:
- Student Name
- Student Grade
- Parent Name
- Parent email address
What Will you Find on Naviance?
- College Lookup and Visit Schedule
- College Search - enter criteria such as size, location, cost, specific majors or athletic programs. Students can produce a list of colleges that meet their criteria.
- Scattergrams - graphical view of application outcomes
- Senior Transcripts - Able to view when your transcript/application were sent to colleges.
- Letters of Recommendation - Seniors will be able to request a teacher's letter of rec and view if the letters have been submitted.
- Scholarships - Click Colleges - Scholarship list or National Scholarship Search
College and Career Center
The College & Career Center schedule is available in Naviance. Visits will mostly be in-person in the College and Career Center with a few colleges offering a virtual session. You must sign up for the visits in Naviance to receive a HUB pass.
College & Career Center Hours
Monday-Friday
7:45 a.m.-3 p.m.
Financial Aid & Scholarships
FAFSA
Completing the FAFSA is the first step in the college financial aid process. This is a required form for any student seeking federal aid. Many colleges require students receiving scholarship funds to complete a FAFSA. Additionally, some families complete a FAFSA in order to get access to unsubsidized federal loan funds that are not income dependent.
CSS Profile
The CSS Profile is the College Board’s financial aid application that about 260 mostly private colleges and universities, use for their undergraduate admissions. In addition to filing the FAFSA, the CSS Profile application is required for participating schools.
All PROFILE schools use the FAFSA to determine which of their applicants will qualify for federal and/or state financial aid. Most public and private colleges and universities also rely upon the FAFSA to determine who is eligible for the institutions’ own need-based financial aid. The PROFILE schools, however, want to dig deeper than the FAFSA allows when assessing who qualifies for money from their own institution.
MSEP
The Midwest Student Exchange Program enables residents of Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska to enroll in designated institutions and programs at reduced tuition levels outside of their home state. Some schools in the province of Manitoba also participate. The Midwest Student Exchange Program is an interstate initiative established by the Midwestern Higher Education Commission (MHEC) to increase educational opportunities for students in its member states. This program enables residents at reduced tuition (150% of resident tuition) levels. The basic core college prep courses apply for many of these schools' requirements.
North Star Promise
Reciprocity
Minnesota residents may attend public institutions in Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Manitoba and pay tuition at a rate lower than non-resident or, in some cases, comparable to resident rates. For more information, visit the Minnesota Office of Higher Education's reciprocity website.
Scholarships
You may view Scholarship Information in Naviance. If you have questions, please reach out to Michele Johnson at michele.johnson@minnetonkaschools.org.
MHS Local Scholarship 2024-2025
Seniors can apply for these scholarships using the MHS Local Scholarship Application. Recipients of these scholarships are selected by the scholarship committee at Minnetonka High School.
Application Instructions
- You must log in using your mtka.org student email to apply for these scholarships.
- You can apply for up to six scholarships by completing the MHS Local Scholarship Application. Only one application per senior will be accepted. Please read the descriptions carefully to ensure your eligibility for that particular scholarship.
- The application will go live February 4, 2025 and close March 4, 2025
- Awards range from $500-$3300
Scholarship Search Engines
Scholarships.com divides scholarships by a variety of unique categories, including GPA, military affiliation, ethnicity, artistic ability, ACT or SAT score and residing state. And when you select one of these categories, you’ll likely see a large list of subcategories, where you can then view all eligible scholarships. This system helps students find niche awards with smaller applicant pools that they’re more likely to win.
Fastweb
Fastweb aggregates awards from both large and small directories. You have to make a profile to search for scholarships, which is similar to other sites. But after the initial sign-up process, you can easily search for scholarships and filter your results based on several data points. Fastweb will also notify you when a new scholarship matching your description is posted and when you have upcoming deadlines.
College Board
You’re probably familiar with the College Board if you’ve taken the SAT, AP tests or other college entry exams. But the College Board can help you after you’ve been accepted into a school—its scholarship search helps you find awards to help you pay for college.
After you create an account, you can filter awards by your interests, field of study, club affiliations or specific situations, like if your parents are divorced. College Board will also automatically match you with eligible scholarships based on the information in your profile. There is also an autofill function, which allows you to reuse information from other scholarship applications, saving you time and helping you apply for more awards.
Going Merry
Applying to scholarships can feel repetitive; that’s why Going Merry lets students type in information once and apply for multiple scholarships at the same time. If you’re in a time crunch, look for awards on Going Merry before checking out the other major sites.
The site also prides itself on including local awards, which are less competitive and may be easier to win than big national scholarships.
ScholarshipOwl
ScholarshipOwl is a popular scholarship website that compiles awards and organizes them by amount, types of requirements, number of winners and length of time until the application is due.
ScholarshipOwl will automatically resubmit your application to recurring scholarships that don’t require anything beyond your basic information. This leaves you more time to focus on awards that require essays and recommendation letters.
Bold.org
While many scholarship sites are difficult to navigate, Bold.org has one of the cleanest interfaces. It’s easy to search and find different scholarships you may be eligible for and you can filter by your education level, award category, award amount and deadline. You can even toggle on the “no-essay” button to find scholarships that don’t require a written essay.
Cappex
Cappex claims to be the biggest online scholarship database, so it could pay to check the site for possible leads. Like other sites, you have to create an account to see all the scholarships you might qualify for. Their filter system lets you sort awards by year in school, scholarship amount, gender, ethnicity and award deadline. You can also search for renewable scholarships, which offer college funding for multiple years.
Scholly
When you fill out a profile on Scholly, their algorithm will comb through available scholarships and create a list of eligible awards. Each scholarship will have a Scholly score, which ranks how good of a fit it is for your background and experience. The higher the Scholly score, the stronger match you are with the scholarship’s requirements.
CareerOneStop
The U.S. Department of Labor has its own scholarship website through the CareerOneStop portal. There are more than 8,000 scholarships listed, and you can filter awards by keyword or sort them by amount, deadline, residing state and state where you’ll be studying.
There are scholarships available for students enrolled in a vocational school or working toward an associate’s degree, as well as for undergraduate and graduate students.
NACAC College Fair
NACAC National College Fair Minnesota
When: Tuesday, October 22 (9:00 a.m.-noon and *5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.)
Wednesday,, October 23 (9:00 a.m.-noon)
Where: Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Ave S, Minneapolis
*MHS will be providing buses to the college fair on Tuesday evening. We strongly encourage students to attend on Tuesday evening so you do not miss school.
Community (2-Year) College Programs
Vocational Trade Schools and Apprenticeship
Trade Schools
Trade schools in Minnesota equip students for lucrative and in-demand careers across various fields. These schools provide training for both classic trades such as plumbing, auto mechanics, and electrical work, as well as contemporary professions in areas like robotics, cybersecurity, and engineering.
Learn More About Career Technical Education
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are partnerships between business, industry, labor and government that enable students to receive training in skilled trades through classroom training and work on-the-job. Most apprenticeships are paid positions.
Transcripts
Please visit the Transcripts webpage for more information about how to view unofficial transcripts or order certified transcripts.
Athletics - NCAA Requirements
Students thinking about or planning to play college sports should visit the NCAA eligibility website to ensure that they understand the eligibility requirements. The Educational Resources are linked here.
Career Planning Resources
Find a Job/Internship
The job postings below are independent from Minnetonka Schools. These opportunities are posted here as a service to local students and businesses. Students are responsible for submitting their applications to potential employers.
Employers interested in posting jobs should complete this form.
Current Job/Internship Openings
Click the links below for more information on each position and how to apply.
- Goldfish Swim School - Swim Instructors and Lifeguards
- Kowalski's Markets - Various Positions
- National Food Lab - Part-Time Consumer Testing Associate
- National Food Lab - Server and Kitchen
- Sakada Studios - Front Desk
- St. David's Center for Child & Family Development
- St. John's Baptist Catholic Montressori School - Extended Day Program Assistant
- St. Therese Early Learning Center - Preschool Aid Position
- MCLC Foundation Internship
- Minnetonka Aquatics - Swim Instructors, Lifeguards and Coaches
- Super Coaches - Tutor or Coach
- Tech Academy - STEM Summer Camp/Rec Assistants
- Tree Trust - Summer Youth Program Employment
Recorded Presentations
2024-25
Exeter and Durham US presentation (PDF)
Watch the Presentation
Navigating College Support Systems for Students with Disabilities
Watch the Presentation
Watch the Presentation
Counseling at MHS
Contact
Norma Gutierrez
Post-Secondary Counselor
norma.gutierrez@minnetonkaschools.org
952-401-5746
Michele Johnson
Assistant, College and Career Center
michele.johnson@minnetonkaschools.org
952-401-5844
Additional Resources
- Daily Schedule (here)
- Tutoring Resources (click here)
- College App and Scholarship Tracker
- Direct Admissions
- High School Planning Checklist
- Post-Secondary Planning Resources
- Post-Secondary Planning Guide